Obviously, the market for consoles isn't going anywhere. This last generation has put more consoles and handhelds in people's homes than ANY generation before. That doesn't sound like a decline to me. People who never played games before (and maybe don't own smart phones yet) have purchase current generation and last generation hardware.
Also, people who use these devices (us) are the ones who will dictate when they will go away. We obviously don't want them to go away, so I doubt they will. We let the manufacturer's know this by continuing to buy their consoles, pc hardware, handhelds, games, subscription services, etc.
Now, if some news company wants to stir the pot by saying their dying because multipurpose PHONES and tablets are selling more ... well, that's fine. I think people should just ignore their pot stirring and move on. However, if I were to respond to their claims, and the claims of MANY people, of "well, phones and tablets are already out pacing dedicated gaming platforms", my response would be, "NO SHIT".
There's a reason why phones sell better than handhelds ... They're Phones! Everyone needs a phone! The fact that the non-smart phone market has pretty much disappeared is the only reason why this even looks like anything. Is there a cross section of markets between handhelds, consoles, phones, and tablets? Yes. HOWEVER. The customer who goes out to buy a PS3 for Metal Gear Solid 4 is NOT the same customer that will go, "gee, I already have a tablet that plays Angry Birds and Infinity Blade ... do I really need a console too?", that person doesn't give a shit about games. That person is the average consumer. They are playing games on their phone right now, because those games happen to be "it".
The people who keep saying, mobile is the future, just HAPPEN to work in the mobile industry. Wow, how surprising. Of course phones and tablets will get better. But, it'll work more like a supplement, than a replacement. A person who would be considered a gamer, not a hobbyist, might own a tablet, will probably own a smart phone, but they will DEFINITELY own a primary gaming platform.
I think what will happen is more integration, not replacement. I tablet can't replace that at home experience of playing Uncharted 3. Even if it had wireless video transfer (communication standards aren't in place for it) to a TV ... it doesn't have the physicality required for most games. Touch screens are not a replacement for a Dual Shock.
And for where people get all this information, it's usually from analysts ... who are generally people who study markets abstractly. They only look at mass market numbers and they don't generally understand video games. They're the same guys who kept saying the Wii had to be HD otherwise it would flounder ... well, guess what? It wasn't and it didn't.
The great thing about video games and consoles, is companies generally do what they want. They push boundaries in areas that they think is the future (usually). One thing that has always been clear in the console space ... if you just iterate and don't innovate ... you'll be gone tomorrow. So, I also think it's a little arrogant to assume consoles themselves might not dramatically change into something that the mobile market would copy (again).
One of the arguments in the article is that, oh, Microsoft and Sony haven't really made anything in the console market. That's because of their business strategy, not because of people's interest in dedicated gaming, but because their business strategy makes them lose money for being popular. Way to go.
If we can have actual duplicate markets of devices coexist, like the Vita AND 3DS. Or the Wii 360, and PS3 ... how could you argue that two distinct markets, console and mobile, will annihilate one or the other (or rather, either they will both exist, or just mobile will exist). That doesn't make any sense!
